Reid Hoffman Invests In A Startup Building A Simpler, Better, Mobile Version Of eBay

A new startup named Sold is building an application that offers a
better way to sell your old stuff than eBay.

Take a few photos, answer a few questions, and they find a buyer,
send you a box and pick up the item at your door.

Sold doesn't really compete with eBay or other online
marketplaces. It's an iPhone app
that makes use of them all.

Here's how Sold works: You fill out a short form about the item
you are selling. Sold scans the form and then asks you to take
four pictures of the item, giving you tips on what to show in the
pictures.

Employees at Sold look at the pictures to verify that the info
you wrote about it is accurate and the item is in good condition.
They list the item on eBay or another site for you. When it
sells, they send you a box with the shipping address of the
buyer. The money is deposited in your account.

The truly cool thing about it is that it turns everyone into a
"power seller," as cofounder and ex-Microsoftie Matt Blackshaw
describe it.

For instance, did you know that you'll get the most money for
your old iPhone if you sell it on eBay but you'll get more money
for your DSLR camera if you sell it on camera site Dppreview.com?

Did you know that you'll get more money for your iPhone on eBay
if the phone is turned on in the picture you post?

That's the kind of knowledge Sold uses to sell items at top
prices, Blackshaw says. It makes its money by charging a small
fee to the buyer as part of the transaction.

The site was built by three tech wizards from MIT MediaLab:
Blackshaw, Tony DeVincenzi and Dávid Lakatos. It's backed by
an undisclosed seed round from LinkedIn
cofounder Reid
Hoffman at Greylock; Rich
Miner at Google
Venture's Boston office and Antonio Rodriguez of Matrix.
Some famous angels chipped in, too, like HubSpot founder Dharmesh Shah and
Data Collective VC Matt Ocko (known for investing in
Zynga,
Facebook,
LivingSocial).